DIANE BORGMAN

I must say that I find Patrick Brown’s vehemence and “burn them at the stake” mentality disturbing. At their last meeting the Homer City Council members listened to the community testimony and voted down the ordinance he is referring to. If you don’t like an elected official’s politics, vote against them in the next election if they choose to run again, but to bully, threaten and personally attack them is not acceptable.

It seems when people hear or see the word philanthropy they think of huge sums of money. Donating money to an organization is certainly a huge contribution and it provides a critical means for the organization to remain sustainable.

But it seems to me that there are also other ways of giving that can be considered as philanthropy.

Jubilee 2013 presented by the Homer Council on the Arts marked 26 years of celebrating young artists. As usual, this year’s show was a great success thanks to the efforts of many: a great audience, talented young people, dedicated teachers, parents and dedicated volunteers.

At a recent Homer Council on the Arts meeting we were planning our annual meeting which takes place each January. At that meeting HCOA presents a slate of proposed board members for the members to approve. As we talked, it became clear that it is time to begin a search for new board members.

For nonprofit organizations, board members are critical to planning, providing new energy, setting policy, giving direction and helping to accomplish the mission of the organization.